2012 Lamborghini Aventador

Sant'Agata's V12 At Its Best Yet 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 – Click above for high-res image gallery In yet another happy chapter of our lives, we've been among the first to hop in the year's most hotly anticipated exotic, the 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. After the super sport's debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March, plus some previous prototype drives while still in camouflage, all that remained was the tell-all day behind its wheel on a hot circuit. We survived. And the seat of our pants is permanently creased by the Aventador's electrifying, world-conquering performance. It's about time that Lamborghini put its V12 model front-and-center again, and this is what the four-year development of the Aventador has been all about. Only at the very start of its life did the Murciélago ever garner this type of attention. Once its Gallardo V10 sibling was launched, the poor old Murc didn't take it so well and lived deep in the shadows of Lambo's popstar "people's car." Continue reading... We'll get some more civilian road time in the Aventador this summer, but on the aggressive track of Vallelunga outside of Rome, the 691-horsepower brute with 509 pound-feet of torque at the ready couldn't get enough of our animal instincts. It devours a track like a bull that eats red meat. It's fantastically disturbing. Most impressive right off the bat is – as we've experienced with the occasional twelve-cylinder Ferrari – exactly how malleable this track terror is on a normal day in Strada mode (i.e. Street), yet in the next instant it can hammer out a record lap in Corsa mode (Race). Initial acceleration figures to 62 mph put the LP700-4 at 2.9 seconds. In between these two extremes, there's the Sport setup that puts the throttle, innovative seven-speed "Independent Shifting Rods" automated manual transmission, steering feel and the stability control, all in just the right mood for carving up your favorite piece of tarmac. The race-ready inboard Ohlins pushrod dampers inspired by open-wheel Formula cars are not multi-mode adaptive, but we're dealing with a full-time aggressive 217-mph car, so let's be honest: The simpler the better, and the settings Lambo has chosen feel right over most any surface. It's always healthy to keep in mind that the company wants to sell 750 of these per annum, not take on the BMW 7 Series for all-around livability and market dominance. They also want the Aventador to be race-ready for privateers who want to conquer the GT1 class at Le Mans. Initial acceleration figures to 62 mph put the LP700-4 at 2.9 seconds. That's getting a touch into Bugatti Veyron territory and matches the latest Porsche 911 Turbo S and McLaren MP4-12C. Once the twisties start, the big muzzer Lambo (which is nearly 200 pounds lighter than the Murc at 3,472 pounds dry) shows its substance, and the handling provided by the latest-generation electronically active Haldex IV all-wheel drive versus the Murc's viscous/passive system is well beyond anything the latter was ever …
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